Not that Spears has been treating her gig as an opportunity to let loose. When discussing the FOX show's second season, Simon Cowell, 52, declared on Sept. 6 that his fellow judge "has taken this very seriously."

"In the past, we've had judges who never say no. She can't say no quick enough on this show," Simon Cowell recently told reporters of Spears as a judge on the show. "She's quite difficult to please. But she's a fascinating person and I got to like her a lot."